Groundwork

Food and drink · Small-town market · Michigan

Pizza places in the Ludington, MI area

How the Ludington, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pizza places: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #231 of 520 scored small-town markets
#10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
10
5 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
26
All limited-service restaurants · +30.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$45.9M
On food away from home · $3,584 a household
Spending per listing
$4.6M
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.8
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
29,040
0.0% since 2020

See the pizza places around any address in the Ludington area

The site report maps the pizza places on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Ludington area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 10 pizza places in the Ludington area. 5 of them (50%) are chain locations, against 58% across the U.S. That comes to 7.8 for every 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 8.0.

Households in the Ludington area spend about $45.9M a year on food away from home, or $3,584 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. That works out to $4.6M per pizza place, 10% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. That spending covers all food away from home, which pizza places share with other businesses in the trade.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in the Ludington area was 26 in 2023, up 30.0% from 2019. That is one for every 492 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places: fast food and sandwich shops are counted too. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $360K has gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Ludington area.

Population estimates show the Ludington area held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pizza places in the Ludington area is 52 (upper middle), #231 of 520 scored small-town markets and #10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.

How the Ludington area compares

The same measures for Michigan and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the pizza places counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Pizza in Ludington, MI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureLudington areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.88.38.0
Spending per listing$4.6M$4.7M$5.1M
Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants)492514478
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+30.0%+7.8%+6.1%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on food away from home$3,584$3,875$4,070
Median household income$64,748$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score5239

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
26All limited-service restaurants · +30.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
389
Annual payroll, 2023
$8.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
105 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$360K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in the Ludington area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only pizza places.

Population and households in the Ludington area

Population, 2025 estimate
29,0400.0% since 2020
Households
12,801
Median age
47.3
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
495 sq. mi.
People per square mile
59
Median household income
$64,748+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,702
Median home value
$219,600
Jobs located here
8,586
Daytime population
26,202Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ludington area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the pizza places on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Ludington area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for pizza places, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ludington area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for pizza places by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Holland, MI79347.5$5.4M+2.1%#23 of 520
2Coldwater, MI72116.5$5.3M+2.5%#65 of 520
Marinette, WI-MI69175.8$5.9M+0.3%#81 of 520
3Sturgis, MI69166.8$5.2M+0.1%#83 of 520
4Hillsdale, MI62158.4$4.2M0.0%#140 of 520
5Marquette, MI59269.2$3.8M+2.3%#161 of 520
6Escanaba, MI58106.3$5.4M−0.8%#165 of 520
7Alma, MI55117.4$4.6M−1.1%#206 of 520
8Big Rapids, MI55159.0$3.7M+4.7%#211 of 520
9Owosso, MI54227.8$4.6M−0.4%#216 of 520
10Ludington, MI52107.8$4.6M0.0%#231 of 520

Other business types in the Ludington area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many pizza places are in the Ludington, MI area?

The Ludington area has 10 pizza places on map listings as of September 2026. 5 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count pizza restaurants. Official counts show 26 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 30.0% from 2019. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (fast food and sandwich shops included), not only pizza places.

How much do households in the Ludington, MI area spend on food away from home?

About $45.9M a year, or $3,584 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 pizza places on map listings, it comes to $4.6M per pizza place. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only pizza places. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,801 households in the Ludington area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ludington, MI area compare with the U.S. for pizza places?

The Ludington area has 7.8 pizza places per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 8.0. Spending per pizza place is $4.6M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $5.1M. At the national ratio of pizza places to household spending, the Ludington area would have about 9, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 492 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 30.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the Ludington, MI area growing?

Population estimates put the Ludington area at 29,040 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,801 households. The median household income in the Ludington area is $64,748 a year, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.2% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Ludington area scores 52 for pizza places (upper middle), #231 of 520 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ludington area. It maps the pizza places on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for pizza places · All 56 business types in the Ludington area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ludington area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Ludington area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.